Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems unveiled its latest missile defense system, called Iron Beam, which uses lasers to destroy incoming rockets and mortars.
“It’s exactly like what you see in ‘Star Wars,’” Rafael spokesman Amit Zimmer said at the Singapore Airshow, the Associated Press reported. “You see the lasers go up so quickly like a flash and the target is finished.”
According to Rafael, the Iron Beam system is designed to intercept super close-range drones, rockets, and mortars that aren’t in the air long enough for the Iron Dome system to pick up. Military experts agree that it will be a potentially effective addition to Israel’s battlefield-tested Iron Dome system.
Iron Beam is the latest project in Israel’s comprehensive missile defense system. Rafael, along with American defense company Raytheon, has also been developing David’s Sling, a mid-range missile defense system. Israel successfully tested that system last November.